Friday Afternoon Roundup - The Times, The Times Are Getting Uglier
The UN Security Council has predictably enough called for a ceasefire, and somewhat less predictably the Bush Administration pulled back and let it happen. What a ceasefire is supposed to accomplish is anyone's guess, but for the moment it's not accomplishing anything, as Israel has shown enough guts to reject it.
The media is backing off some of the faked "atrocity" footage, with CNN pulling a video and France2 apologizing for phony footage. Of course none of that compares to a retraction from Uruknet.
But naturally enough Obama is doing the safe thing by staying silent, which is confusing the hell out of his supporters. Madoff even ran a piece defending Israel, while fitting in some good Bush bashing for her crowd. Of course that sort of thing will end the moment Barry Hussein is in the White House and we discover that Hamas was just misunderstood, once the appropriate backdoor agreements have been reached. For context, remember how quickly all the official Jewish organizations which had been against the PLO backpedaled and began offering invites to Arafat. It took a real act of courage at the Holocaust Museum to defy Clinton and his henchmen by denying Arafat a photo op there.
Maggie's Notebook has some of the latest updates on the attacks on Israel and a few words on the violence from Findalis.
Try to check what happens to the money sent to the Palestinians and you will see most is siphoned off to Swiss bank accounts and the rest is used to fund terrorism. Hamas and the PA don't recognize the 2-state solution. They want only one state, free of all Jews, Druse, Baha'i and Christians. They will rape, murder and rob to get what they want.
I ask my readers to take the time and say a prayer for the people of Sderot and the Western Negev who are and have been under rocket fire for the past 8 years.
Infidel Bloggers Alliance has the ZOA report on Obama refusing briefings on the situation in Gaza.
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has expressed concern over reports that President-elect Barack Obama and his senior aides have refused all briefings on the current situation inGaza from the Israeli government and its officials. In this way, he has been depriving himself of information that will be central to his deliberations on the Middle East, a subject on which he has promised to "hit the ground running" when he assumes office as President on January 20.
As if anyone besides the few deluded pro-Israel Jews who voted for Obama, or the "Ahasverosh Feast" Jews who switched from opposing him to supporting him after the election, seriously believe that Obama is going to be listening to Israeli briefings, or that he doesn't already have a plan in place that's been designed by the sort of people who think Israel shouldn't exist.
Meanwhile we have Pat Buchanan comparing Israel to the Nazis, which considering his well known admiration for Hitler may actually be some sort of attempt at a compliment. Naturally Buchanan was a big fan of the Russian invasion of Georgia, which was of course "completely legitimate", even though it featured a military dictatorship hostile to the United States and which had formerly enslaved everything up to Germany invading a sovereign country. But Israel hitting a terrorist group, now in Pat's World that's seriously wrong.
Of course Pat wasn't the first or most prominent team member up to bat with that particular smear, an honor belonging to a Cardinal from a Vatican led by a former Hitler Youth member. Hypocrisy doesn't come in more glaring tones than this. But I guess Pat Buchanan has to stay away from Gulag metaphors to avoid offending President Vlad the KGB Impaler, who has a way of dealing with pundits who say things he doesn't like.
Naturally there are reports of negotiations being prepped between Obama and Hamas, which aren't exactly surprising. Which is one more reason that even Olmert and Co might have gotten serious about finishing Hamas, before Obama formally recognizes them and removes them from the terrorist list, while kicking in a large sack of foreign aid.
Meanwhile Jimmy Carter, always the front line for terrorist propaganda, has redefined Hamas' weapons smuggling tunnels, as "Defensive Tunnels". I bet he'd recognize them as offensive if Hamas was smuggling rabbits through them instead of Katyushas.
Anti-Israel rallies around the world are getting spectacularly uglier, especially since many of them are made up of members of the Religion of Peace (TM) who just between you and me, aren't so peaceful at all.
Atlas Shrugs has photos and videos of an Oslo rally getting ugly
I just attended a pro-Israel rally in downtown Oslo (the capital of Norway). The terrorists and radical socialists were surrounding the fenced-in area where the peaceful assembly took place, chanting their vicious slogans and throwing eggs. The situation escalated as they began throwing bottles and rocks, then ultimately firebombs, injuring numerous senior citizens. They're still creating havoc in downtown Oslo, which is practically blanketed in teargas. They're all marching on the Israeli embassy now. You can watch some of it unfold here:
Of course why be surprised. It's been clear for some time that the 1930's are back. This isn't a political disagreement, it's the planned anhiliation of Israel, followed closely by Europe and America. And it isn't just Muslims doing the heavy lifting. You can see some of that same hate all over the internet. Civilization has spawned the destroyers that are doing their best to bring it down.
NeoCon Express has a good roundup of cartoons touching on the perverse absurdity of the entire situation.
Islamic Danger for Americans sees a change in the weather
Lemon Lime Moon writes on the Dangerous Fictions in our culture today
Thoughts and moods enter into people's heads individually, but also collectively and you will see them realized outloud so to speak in a spate of books, movies, documentaries,and other ways.
The recent vampire craze is one such idea that has entered the communal psyche. In this wave of idea and thought, vampires are just different, not evil, they are misunderstood, capable of love and deep feeling. They are just another kind of "person" and of course in this world we are to accept all persons without question.Though they are mythical creatures, the message blurs the line of good and evil.
Logistics Monster has more on Obama's birth certificate or lack thereof saga
The Keli Ata blog calls on the media to hide their shame
The ARPEH blog has a roundup of responses from Major British political parties and MP's on what's going on in Israel, and writes on what Israel's goal in Gaza should be.
The only way to successfully meet the war objectives is to capture and hold territory in Gaza where immediate response to rocket launches can be dealt out. This is a daunting task given the current rocket ranges and past Lebanon experience.
Personally though I think trying to carve out a security zone is another dead end, just as it was in Lebanon. Any occupation army won't work, neither will security zones. The only options are to retake Gaza in full or retreat and accept rocket attacks as a daily reality.
There are no other true alternatives.